'Northless' makes Progress in San Sebastian

Rigoberto Perezcano's film gets cash infusion

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain -- Mexican director Rigoberto Perezcano's unfinished feature "Northless" was the big winner of the San Sebastian International Film Festival's Films in Progress sidebar Wednesday, picking up the Industry Award, which sees the film to completion, as well as the TVE Award and the 10,000 euro Casa de America Award.

A story about a Mexican boy's quest to illegally cross into the U.S., "Northless" is produced by Tiburon Filmes.

A joint venture of the Rencontres Cinemas d'Amerique Latine in Toulouse and the San Sebastian festival, Films in Progress is intended to facilitate the completion of films by independent Latin American and Spanish filmmakers at the postproduction stage. It also ensures a coveted spot on the festival circuit for the winners, with an earmarked slot at San Sebastian.

The Industry Award is sponsored by half a dozen postproduction facilities in Spain and foots the bill for all the remaining costs to deliver a 35mm copy of the film, subtitled in English, while the TVE Award secures Spanish broadcast rights for the public broadcaster.

Earlier this week, Palestinian Najwa Najjar's "Pomegranates and Myrrh" walked away with more than 37,000 euros ($54,000) in post-production services as the grand prize winner in the Middle East/Maghreb initiative Cinema in Motion.